1979 was a big year: Thatcher was elected UK Prime Minister, another oil shortage plagued drivers everywhere, the USSR attacked Afghanistan, Khomeini seized power in Iran and Hussein assumed leadership in Iraq, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurred, China proclaimed 1 child was enough, and Sid Vicious OD’d. In more lighthearted news, the Sony Walkman made its debut; Alien, The Deer Hunter, and Kramer vs. Kramer were big hits; and Pink Floyd released “The Wall”. In our survey of ’79 there’s no Floyd, but in Part 1 you will hear The Clash, The B-52’s, Pere Ubu, Ian Dury, The Selecter, Gang of Four, The Boomtown Rats, The Contortions, Spizzenergi, Germs, The Fall, 20/20, and much more.
Playlist
- Adam And The Ants — Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face)
- The B-52’s — Hero Worship
- The Raincoats — Fairytale In The Supermarket
- Spizzenergi — Where’s Captain Kirk
- Misfits — Horror Business
- The Clash — Spanish Bombs
- Fingerprintz — Close Circuit Connection
- Wazmo Nariz — Plunger
- The Human League — Zero As A Limit
- Simple Minds — Chelsea Girl
- Throbbing Gristle — Walkabout
- 20/20 — Backyard Guys
- Germs — Communist Eyes
- Simpletones — I Like Drugs
- The Boomtown Rats — Someone’s Looking At You
- The Desperate Bicycles — A Can Of Lemonade
- Pere Ubu — 49 Guitars and One Girl
- The Fall — Various Times
- Associates — Boys Keep Swinging
- Pop Rivets — Fun In The U.K.
- Patrik Fitzgerald — As Ugly As You
- Gang Of Four — Natural’s Not In It
- Bauhaus — Bela Lugosi’s Dead
- The Contortions — Throw Me Away
- Devo — The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize
- The A’s — Parasite
- Flys — When 2 And 5 Make 9
- Iggy Pop — I’m Bored
- The Undertones — You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It)
- Gary Numan — Observer
- The Continentals — Fizz Pop (Modern Rock)
- Ian Dury & The Blockheads — Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy
- The Selecter — On My Radio
- Leyton Buzzards — Saturday Night Beneath The Plastic Palm Trees
- Sparks — The No. 1 Song In Heaven